Tag: MUSIC

ways to improve motor skills in a cerebral palsy patient

Posted on by Escape Global

Last week was World Cerebral Palsy day and I thought to do a post that will be helpful to caregivers of Cerebral Palsy patients, children especially.

Cerebral palsy is a motor disorder that is caused by damage to the developing brain. It primarily affects an individual’s movements, balance, and posture. I want to show you practical ways to help a child who has cerebral palsy;

👉 Teach the child to play a musical instrument, this is what it’ll do, it will enhance flexibility and dexterity, which will in turn help refine gross and fine motor skills. A small drum with sticks for example or a small tambourine or a maracas. If you can not teach the child to play a musical instrument, you can employ a tutor if possible who is patient and capable of teaching the child.

👉 Encourage and model walking, dancing and doing exercises while listening to music, it will help strengthen the child’s muscles. It’s technically called Rhythmic auditory stimulation in music therapy, it is the synchronisation of sound and movement to facilitate improvements in biologically rhythmical functions. This rhythmic nature of music also helps to organize the child’s gait, it will teach movements timing to the beat of the music. For example modelling synchronisation of steps to lively music to improve walking speed, you can begin on a slow tempo and increase speed gradually if you are playing a live music and not a recorded one.

👉 The last but the most important is to engage in repetitions, when the results of the first try is pleasing, do not give in to the temptation of relaxing but keep on and on because the human brain is incredibly adaptable, but needs repetitive activities or exercise to become familiar with new functions.

I really looked forward to putting up a video that demonstrates what I have shared here but somehow I can not, please look out for it on my Instagram pages next week; @mercykaynimi or @escape_global. Don’t stop being grateful, I’m rooting for you always!

Kindly let me know in the comment box if this post was helpful.

Need counsel? Need help or have questions? Feel free to drop them here or if for confidentiality’s sake you don’t want to, kindly write to me; mercykayt@gmail.com.

Thank You.

HOW TO HELP A CHILD WHO HAS SPEECH DISORDER USING MUSIC THERAPY

Posted on by Escape Global

Children who have speech disorder may not learn or master language milestones as other children.

Few years ago I had a patient who had speech disorder, on first meeting he was quite curious to know how the guitar is being played, he also wanted to know how to accompany his voice with it so I gave him the guitar and taught him the placement of the G Major chord, he was able to try it out though his hands were not firm on it, I also taught him the placement of his hands to make the E Minor. He was able to interchange both chords but not conveniently. He sang and played though it felt like noise to everyone around but he enjoyed it and did not feel like returning home with his parents. In the atmosphere of music, he could vocalize.
This experience made me realize the need to teach few simple and helpful ways of working on a speech disorder.

👉 First is to allow your young one listen to music, it helps boosts cognitive functioning, put it on at different times of the day.
A particular study done in 2010 revealed that Children who listened to music closed the developmental gap faster than those who had no music therapy. Those with speech delays moved faster toward correcting speech or improving communication skills at all ages, from toddlers with speech delays to older children. The balanced rhythm of the music helps the child match the words to the beat, providing more measure than normal speech, and therefore helping the child learn how language works trouble-free.

👉 Possibly get a mouth organ to help in breath production and by mouth organ I mean the harmonica or a recorder.

👉 Engage in vocalization of vow and consonant sounds alike, I did a video exemplifying this on my Instagram page, be sure to check it out @mercykaynimi or @escape_global

👉 Engage in the turn-taking technique singing simple and familiar songs with short lyrics. For example, Twinkle Twinkle Little star. I exemplified that too in the video I made on my Instagram page.
The child will be able to pick the words of the shorter song better and will more readily repeat them to the beat.

👉Playing an instrument, such as an acoustic guitar, it also helps the cognitive development of children just like the story of the patient I shared earlier in this post.

👉 Make sure also that everything you are teaching is age appropriate and more importantly be grateful for every process, don’t compare your journey with another.

You are doing very well and I’m rooting for you!

Do let me know in the comment box if this post was helpful.

Need counsel? Need help or have questions? Feel free to drop them here or if for confidentiality’s sake you don’t want to, kindly write to me; mercykayt@gmail.com.

Thank You.

TEACH SOCIAL SKILLS TO CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEED USING MUSIC

Posted on by Escape Global

One time I had an autistic patient who came to a session I was to have with her crying, I went on to ask her mother the reason for the tears, she told me that she raised her voice at her because immediately they stepped into the hospital, she covered her face. If you are familiar with children who live with autism, you will know that they have very poor social skills, they can hardly make an eye contact.

The major reason why I’m doing this post is to help you as a caregiver teach a/your child social skills using Music. non-musical pathway may seem forceful and tiring for you and your child.

Children with poor social skills are often seen as preoccupied in their own world and may be highly passive or unresponsive in social situations. In this post, I’ll share with you steps to take and five social skills to target for intervention.

The first is to be grateful for your journey again and again, there is an air that gratitude brings, it dispels toxicity and comparison.

Next is to enrol your child in a music school if you might not be available due to work schedule or other things. The music school attendance may be an extra-curricular or full-time activity, either way is perfect. The goal is to be in an environment that is musical and increases curiosity first.

Getting a musical instrument of their choice will not be a bad idea, take note of choice because you don’t want to buy one that your child will not like or end up making use of. What musical instrument does is that it builds a level of self-awareness in them and improves relationships with others. It encourages a level of communicative behavior and interaction with others, which is something that autistic children have great difficulty with. An illustration of a band was given by someone, if we look closely at the way that a band works, it is obvious that the instruments must all interact with one another, but the player only needs to interact with the instrument at first. interacting with others can be troubling for children living with autism, but through the introduction of a musical instrument, there are possibilities that they will connect first with the object and then open up to others interacting with their musical instruments also. The autistic child whose story I shared earlier on was able to bond with music and myself through the use of musical instrument (The Guitar).

Proper interpretation of music both in lyrics and in sound, this can go a long way to help in teaching us to converse. For children with autism, it could mean learning a new word from a song, or better understanding on the way to act in a social situation based on the messages that a song expresses. We know that autism can create barriers for children in social settings, but small groups of children listening to music together may feel confident and comfortable enough to comment or sing along with others.

Using musical parody to teach them this social skills that are targeted for intervention: eye-contact, vocalization, imitation, initiation and turn-taking. For example, the popular twinkle, twinkle little star can be sung using other lyrics but same tune. That’s parody, different lyrics but same or popular tune.

  • While you do this try to make eye-contact with them, let them look you in the eye and make sure to do same.
  • Ask them to vocalize the song you just taught them.
  • Sing and ask that they imitate you, try to make it funny and creative.
  • Initiate the song and allow them continue, you can sing the first line and allow them continue
  • Take turns in singing, use words likes “whoever sings first gets a bowl of ice cream”. This is to motivate them.

Finally, be sure to go over what they have learnt in the music school with them even if you are not available. Don’t just leave the entire responsibility to the music teacher.

Be sure to check my Instagram pages for a video showing you an example of social skills you can teach your child with special need using music; @mercykaynimi, @escape_global.

You are doing so well and I am rooting for you!

Do let me know in the comment box if this post was helpful.

Need counsel? Need help or have questions? Feel free to drop them here or if for confidentiality’s sake you don’t want to, kindly write to me; mercykayt@gmail.com.

Thank You.

HOW YOU CAN TEACH A SPECIAL NEED CHILD WITH NO Background in music

Posted on by Escape Global

I have no background in music and I want to teach a/my child with special need.
I know the previous post may have got you wondering how you can teach your child music with no music inclination. I will be sharing few simple steps on how to teach your young one in such a way that it is beneficial to both you and them.


The first thing I’ll like to mention which I mentioned in my previous post is to OWN YOUR JOURNEY, I apologize for reiterating it but if you must make the most of this journey then you will part ways with impatience, comparison, ingratitude and be companions of gratitude any day any moment.


Focus on knowing your CHILD(REN): When preparing to teach music to your child(ren), focus on knowing them, understanding their personalities, what they love and will tend to. Knowing them means you will have to recall the times when they engaged in music, what their response was like, if they love calm or fast music, if they enjoy rhythm, whether they have ever been fascinated by a musical instrument, if there is any genre of music that makes them aggressive or feel frustrated. All these are to let you know that you must be a keen observer, it will help you know which to tone down on and which to elevate. Ask them questions and don’t feel bad if they don’t like what you envisaged them liking.


Focus on learning a musical instrument, be it Voice, Piano, Guitar and so on. Do not dabble into too many musical instruments, you can download videos online to learn, explore yourself and all other spontaneous ideas that might come in the process and as you learn, try engaging your child with it. The goal is to learn while they learn.


Keep things simple with your child. your child isn’t an adult that you would want to please by being prim and proper, you can say things like “Honey you know mummy or daddy is just learning to figure this out so let’s just go with the flow”. Your child will appreciate the commitment, vulnerability and simplicity you put into it. I remember when I just started playing the guitar and was visiting the hospital, because I didn’t know much I always wanted to cringe, then I realized from my interactions with each kid that they didn’t care, they just wanted the simple thing I could play then.


As you grow in teaching them, avoid being rigid, kids love to play and explore a lot and sometimes you might have a bucket list of how you want to teach music but they are just concentrating on one. I used to ‘overprepare’ and then when I begin sessions, they just always have something else they love to do. Do not rush them, give grace and watch how they explore just the one you’ve taught them. the joy is not in how many lessons you can pump down their brain but in the journey that is moving steadily. Be grateful!


Watch sessions on YouTube where children with special needs are engaged in Music Therapy, it will boost your confidence and you’ll have lot of innovative ideas on how to utilize music in helping your young one.


Paste colourful postcards containing illustrative affirmations in your music space. Affirmations like; I am smart, I am well-behaved, I sing well, I play my musical instruments well and so on. Just be creative about it.


Finally, as you teach them the little you’ve learnt, don’t stop learning also. It’s never bad to learn on the job, some days might seem frustrating but please do not give up, give grace.
You are doing so well and I am rooting for you!


Do let me know in the comment box if this post was helpful.
Need counsel? Need help or have questions? Feel free to drop them here or if for confidentiality’s sake you don’t want to, kindly write to me; mercykayt@gmail.com.
Thank You.

HOW TO UTILIZE THE GIFT OF MUSIC IN HELPING CHILDREN LIVING WITH AUTISM- FOR CAREGIVERS (Parents especially).

Posted on by Escape Global

I have worked with a couple of autistic children and one common thing I have noticed is that caregivers wish children will just respond using force. Force has never guaranteed response from anyone, it might work when you are present with them but when you are not with them, they will follow what they feel is cool. Here are ways to utilize the gift of music;

 Own your journey; this is the most important point in everything I’ll be sharing with you today. Many caregivers, parents especially have a pattern in their mind of how things ought to be based on a number of information they have read, seen or heard. They are quick to forget that every child is unique and how they are related with is key in healing. Owning your journey means taking it a step at a time and being thankful all the way. Be thankful for your child, be thankful that you are their parent and above all be thankful that Jesus has beautiful plans for them no matter the disability.

 Engage them in music at every instance: Studies show that children with autism can understand both simple and complex emotions in music and are more responsive to sensory stimulation compared with other children especially in music, even over speech or noise.
Music can positively impact children with autism in diverse ways. You can use songs to emphasize speech in children with autism who struggle with language. One technique is to sing with vocabulary cards in order to teach vocabulary skills, you can also play music videos like COCOMELON that teach all these using music. Singing can considerably enhance language skills in students with a type of autism that has language delays.
Music can be used to help a child with autism recollect important information when it is linked with a musical sound, like a melody or rhythm.
One critical study found that music can be used to focus students’ attention, keep those with disabilities on track and decrease their anxiety from stress. I once had an autistic patient who could hardly focus but would pause at the sound of a rhythm made, master it and give you the exact way he heard it.

 If you are musically inclined, try engaging them using music elements in the simplest form.
Music elements such as pitch, melody, harmony, rhythm and so on. When children listen to a piece of music, the combination of musical elements are in it. However, some children with autism are auditory sensitive and it makes them experience a lack of forbearance for sounds.
You can help them by using separate musical elements to simplify their music. For example; start with a song, you as the caregiver can try teaching in stages by isolating pitches on the piano first. As they get comfortable with it, you can slowly introduce the other elements one at a time. be sensitive to know when they are not interested in one element and when they are interested in another.

 Compose songs with the child’s name as song title, it has a way of building self-confidence. For example, in this part of the world, many people have native names. If your child has a native name, you can make use of the name interpretation to compose a song and still mention his or her name in it. It gives a feeling of being loved, being known and all the god feeling.

 Employ music to help the aggression they feel. Autistic children are most times frustrated because of the difficulty they experience in expressing themselves but music can help as it can keep them calm by lessening their feelings of anger. Try different genres of calming and sensory music, see what works best for your young one.

This is not an exhaustive list on how to utilize music in helping children living with autism and like I mentioned earlier, it’s a journey you should take at your own pace encouraging yourself and your child as you walk through it. This journey will be both beneficial to you and your child.
You are doing a great job and I’m rooting for you always.

Need counsel? Need help or have questions? Feel free to drop them here or if for confidentiality’s sake you don’t want to, kindly write to me; mercykayt@gmail.com.


Thank You.

LINKS:

T H E C H A I N

Posted on by Escape Global

Compliments of the season are in order because I’ve not been here since last year. I trust your year has been nothing short of beautiful.

This week I had the privilege of doing an interview with a one-time colleague and friend while I was in the University, Oluwaseyi Olusegun, he is a very skillful and talented drummer and he is also an excellent Music Producer who runs his own brand, Samsol Productions.
In this podcast I asked him few of the questions I always like to ask everyone I interview but a little different in some ways.

Oluwaseyi’s music life was majorly influenced by his family, at age 3 his dad who is also a music guru got him a drum which meant the whole world to him, he constantly played with it as a form of unconscious practice.
This act helped his musicality grow. He spoke of how his church was also a major influence in his music life especially in the excellence of delivery of music, sight-singing and so on.
From my conversation with him, it’s clear again that the family and environment is a major influence in the likes and dislikes of a child.

Of recent I had a conversation with someone who spoke of how easy it is to get a child to learn music and sports at a tender age and how it can improve other areas of learning. I found Seyi’s childhood story one that further emphasized that in this podcast.

Not to dwell long on this, he shared with me how the music activities he engages in has healed him at different times, ranging from playing the drums to song writing to Music production and one thing that stood out for me in this conversation is the fact that In our healing lies the healing of others and in the healing of others lies our own healing. It simply means that everyone must definitely find themselves giving and receiving music in one way or the other whether you see yourself as a professional or an amateur.

I wouldn’t want to make a too wordy documentation of our conversation, so check up the rest of this life-inspiring and enriching podcast here👇
https://anchor.fm/mercy-kay/episodes/T-H-E-C-H-A-I-N-Oluwaseyi-Olusegun-epgobt

Recommended song for the week: With Joy by Dunsin Oyekan. Click here to listen and download 👇

https://youtu.be/JaQl9bdBemE

You’ll be glad you did.
Have a great time!💙

L I F T E D

Posted on by Escape Global

My conversation with Sunday Asipa is one of the most lifting conversations I’ve had on my podcast. He just gave a lot of lifting punchlines and the stories he shared too…
Sunday Asipa shared with me how his instructor who was more like a mentor to him influenced his love for music and was a guide for him as he journeyed the path.

For him Music can heal because according to him, he experienced it first-hand when he was seriously down with typhoid and Malaria, he could barely walk or do anything. This very day he had choir rehearsals, he told himself he was going to be at the church regardless of how he felt.

Of course every of the reasons as to why he shouldn’t have gone was glaring but he went anyway. While at rehearsals, he almost fell because of how weak he felt, the game changer was when the choir began to sing a song that they had learnt, it felt like the song began to inject health into his body. It was healing and immediately he stood strong. According to him, he couldn’t just explain what happened but that particular song worked an immediate miracle in him.

This is one conversation I’ll encourage you to listen to as he scared more than one story. Please click the link below to listen 👇https://anchor.fm/mercy-kay/episodes/L-I-F-T-E-D-Sunday-Asipa-emb0e4

It’s always beautiful reading from you 💚

W A L K I N G

Posted on by Escape Global

I remember reading Deforia Lane’s account of her patient who was about to have a bone marrow transplant and because of loneliness and anxiety had trouble sleeping. The suggestion was made to try Music Therapy and she did, she found out that he loved hymns so he decided to sing ‘Oh, how I love Jesus’.

He had his oxygen mask on earlier but because he needed to sing, he removed it. The nurse stepped in and was taken aback by this sight, she noticed the atmosphere had changed and there was something different about the way music made the kid feel, she took his blood pressure and exclaimed that it was the lowest she had seen in him.
To help his insomnia, Dr Deforia had him listen to music on a cassette player and in 20 minutes he slept soundly, first time in a long while…


I had to share this story because I didn’t understand the gravity of what Esther Odeyemi, my guest on this week’s Podcast went through when she had an accident. Her legs were going to be amputated due to the effect of the accident. She shared with me how she found it hard to sleep many times because she was depressed and couldn’t explain why she was in such pain. She found a light in her questioning season, it was music. It was music that gave her feet strength to walk again, it was music that helped her sleep soundly, it was music that gave her wings to fly despite the obstacles, it was music that lifted her head high when all she could see around was shame.


Her legs weren’t amputated, call it a miracle but till date she still limps while walking, she shared how she was able to overcome the depression that came with people jesting using music.
She’s a warrior in every sense and I’m thankful she’s walking.

You can listen to the full episode here👇https://anchor.fm/mercy-kay/episodes/W-A-L-K-I-N-G-Esther-Odeyemi-el0sse

PS: It’s been one year since I started sharing everything Music Therapy and it’s been a rewarding and stretching journey. If you’ve learnt something from this blog, please share in the comment section. It would mean a lot.


Such a joy reading from you.💚

O V E R C O M E R

Posted on by Escape Global

Jesusson shared with us his journey into therapeutic music, how he played the guitar at an annual event tagged ‘PATIENTS’ DAY’, seeing patients in the hospital regain their confidence and joy just by doing music opened his heart to the aspect of Music and he’s been on it.

He’s one of the few people I know who sensed a call into music and told themselves since this is what I’ve been called to do, let me just study it and boom! He went in for music.
He shares Music on his YouTube channel Friday for Originals every week, you can check his music.

The highlight of my conversation with Jesusson Awotu-Ukiri was when he sang the song titled ‘ We shall Overcome’. I have always known this song since I was in secondary school and there’s this nostalgic feeling I had listening to him sing again.
That’s not even his story, he used to be a victim of depression, he was broke and so many other things were happening to him. Jesusson took to music in that season of His life as a companion, I find that music keeps us company when life’s journey feels too lonely a path to tread on, music is a place to find solace but not just any kind of music will do that. Jesusson and I shared how important it is to discern songs that are for us, some songs make us sink back into depression while certain songs awaken us and pull us from the pit of darkness we find ourself in.

As I always know, reading this story is not as good as listening to it from the one who owns the story, so click the link below to listen 👇
https://anchor.fm/mercy-kay/episodes/O-V-E-R-C-O-M-E-R-ekbt8u

Thank You and it’s always a joy reading from you.💚

G R I E V I N G W I T H H O P E

Posted on by Escape Global

Olayemi Afees Akanni has a strong Muslim background so the possibility of being immersed in music was quite slim, his background in music is one from learning lots of songs by listening to the radio. The radio and his school assembly ground was a major influence in his music life, then when he eventually went to church.

He shared how he felt cheated being the last born of the family for over 10 years until he was displaced😅, he always felt unloved because he wasn’t pampered. He started having thoughts of death in such moments, he’d somehow begin to hum a tune when those thoughts surged in, it helped him bounce back from such state.
He didn’t understand how music was helping him walk through dark questioning seasons until he got into the Tertiary institution.

In His words ‘I used to fear calls from home’, things weren’t okay at home and he tried to avoid receiving calls except if it came from his Father and this was because he knew that his Father had the ability to manage conveying a critical situation in speech.

His sister and Father were challenged health wise, His father had issues at work and his sister’s marriage was close to falling apart. Everything came falling like a pack of cards, he had to skip tests, was thinking of committing suicide at the thought of everything happening but thankfully he didn’t.

It was first his elder sister who died on New Year’s day and it felt like everything came crashing, he was numb and just couldn’t understand what was happening. You’d think that was just it, his father was ill and his leg was about to be amputated, his father didn’t want it, he backed his Father who once carried him, such painful sight to behold and that was the last he saw him. He died!
Olayemi had to walk through the season of losing two loved ones, he grieved with hope with music that reassured him and made him see the bigger picture.

He also shared with us how Songwriting helped him through tough seasons.

I think his story is one worth listening especially if you are walking through grief. Kindly click the link below to listen 👇👇

https://anchor.fm/mercy-kay/episodes/G-R-I-E-V-I-N-G-W-I-T-H-H-O-P-E-ek17qf

I always look forward to reading from you.
Thank You 💚